Always Agree When Your Prospect Says “No”

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Today let’s discuss why you should always agree with merchants when their answer is “no.”  Instant rebuttal is one of the most damaging mistakes made by sales people; so many sales are lost because of this mistake!  At some point in the sales process, almost every merchant will have an objection.  Merchants are always trying to say “no” in some shape or form.  Sales professionals often have a default reaction which is to rebuttal every objection.  However, BEFORE the rebuttal, you must acknowledge their objection and find a way to agree with it which still allows you to move forward with the sales process.

Example:  The merchant says, “I’m not interested right now.”  This would ordinarily illicit one of two default reactions from sales professionals.  (1) For someone who isn’t an aggressive sales person, you would wish the merchant a good day and leave.  (2) For “Super Salesperson,” you would throw out a cheesy statement such as, “How can you say you aren’t interested when you don’t even know what I’m about to say?”  We all know this never works.

Allow me to explain a different approach.

1. Acknowledge the objection. “Mr. Jones, I certainly understand that.”
2. Find a way to agree which will still allow you to move forward. You must challenge the premise of the objection.  Of course, the premise is that merchants couldn’t truly be uninterested when they have no idea what you’re going to say.  Here is an example response.

Susan, I definitely understand.  I came in here unannounced without an appointment, and I’m sure you have a million things on your mind today.  How could you possibly take time to consider a proposal on credit card processing; I do understand that.  Is there a better time when I could come back as a fellow local business owner to introduce myself, find out more about your business, and tell you more about mine?  Maybe five or ten minutes on Thursday or Friday; is there a time that would work best for you?

This same idea will work with any objection.  If you’d like to put me to the test, leave any objection for me on the blog, and I will give you a rebuttal which both acknowledges and agrees with the merchant.  My years of practice have enabled me to rebuttal appropriately every time.

Suppose a merchant says he or she doesn’t want to switch because of too many problems experienced in the past.  My response would be, “Oh my goodness, Robin, I completely understand.  That’s a totally legitimate concern.  Just to make sure I understand, you’re basically saying you could potentially lose sales if you switched and were left without a credit card processing machine or had some other issue arise.  Is that what you’re saying?”  The merchant responds in the affirmative.  My further response:  “Again, I totally agree with you 100%!  The reason I first got into this business is because there are so many disreputable credit card processing offices and reps out there doing exactly what you’ve said.  To be honest, the odds are good that you would have a bad experience when switching credit card processing companies!  But here is the good news, Robin.  Since I also strongly dislike the disreputable processes in this industry, I have good referrals to ensure that I can offer you a smooth transition.  If I could put your mind at rest on that issue by bringing some referrals on a follow-up visit to confirm my reputation, would you be willing to at least take a look at some of my marketing materials to see what I have to offer?”

These examples hopefully help you see how to back up and slow down rather than to hit the merchant with an instant rebuttal when there is an objection.  Notice I also took an extra step in the second illustration to make sure I understood the merchant’s concern.  This is “active listening” when you make a statement similar to the one I made to Robin:  “Just to make sure I understand…”  Then repeat what you think the merchant is saying to you.  You must understand there is a process here!  You can’t just throw out the merchants’ objections by a knee jerk rebuttal; that will only prove to merchants that you are a pushy salesperson!

Rather –

• step back,
• talk quieter,
• talk slower,
• acknowledge the objection,
• find a way to agree while still moving forward with the sales process.

To master this process takes practice and work.  If you put the articles from today and tomorrow together, I think you’ll have some great information on creating the right rebuttals to objections.  Take time to write down the top 10 to 15 objections and begin crafting good rebuttals.  Use a family member, fellow salesperson, or friend to be the customer by giving you an objection and allowing you to practice the flow of understanding, agreeing, then rebuttal.  Also, don’t miss the content tomorrow as I discuss using fictional stories to make an incredible rebuttal.

If you are getting value from my training, you can find much more at ccsalespro.com.  I also offer eight full training courses at instantquotetool.com.  You can have access to these white label courses and have the use of our instant quote tool – the only quote tool in the industry!  The tool allows you to make a quote instantly without calling your manager or analyzing a statement.  With basic information from the merchant, you can give a quote on the spot.  Go to instantquotetool.com and click on FREE 30 day trial to gain access to all this absolutely free with no obligation for 30 days.  We would love your feedback!

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